Current WWE champion breaks character to mention Chris Benoit ahead of title match at Royal Rumble 2025
A current WWE Superstar has mentioned Chris Benoit ahead of his title match at Royal Rumble 2025. The star posted a heartfelt statement on social media.
Benoit's name has been blacklisted from WWE ever since the horrible events of June 24, 2007. He was never publicly mentioned again, with wrestlers in the company doing so as well. So, it's always a surprise when an active WWE star talks about The Rabid Wolverine.
That's exactly what happened when Tommaso Ciampa brought him up in an emotional post on his official Instagram handle ahead of his match at the Royal Rumble. He and Johnny Gargano will defend their WWE Tag Team Championships against Motor City Machine Guns in a two-out-of-three Falls Match.
Ciampa penned an emotional message about how Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle's classic at Royal Rumble 2003 solidified his dream to become a wrestler. The Tag Team Title match on Saturday's show will be his debut at the Rumble premium live event, which is a big moment for The Blackheart.
Here is what he wrote:
"The date was January 19th, 2003. Location: Boston, MA. Event: Royal Rumble I sat in the nosebleeds to watch Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle put on an absolute masterpiece. It was the best match I’ve ever seen live. If there was any doubt in my mind (there wasn’t), that match solidified the fact that I was going to become a professional wrestler. Later that year, I graduated high school and began my journey. 22 years later… and I am 24 hours away from performing at my very first Royal Rumble."
He continued:
"One of my favorite things about professional wrestling is that every performer has a completely unique story. No path is the same. When I first stepped into a ring, my goal was to leave behind a story that I could be proud of. I have no doubt that this chapter will be one of my proudest. I love professional wrestling. I love tag team wrestling. Tomorrow night, I hope we can capture an ounce of the magic of Benoit/Angle."
It remains to be seen if DIY and Motor City Machine Guns will have a match worthy of Kurt Angle vs. Benoit from Royal Rumble 2003. Tommaso Ciampa will surely be motivated to steal the show, even though the rest of the card is stacked.
